The Notre Dame Hawks, Morden Bombers and Warren Mercs were winners in the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League Thursday night. Sean Christensen scored the shootout winner as the Hawks edged the Red River Wild 5-4. Adam Hughesman scored five times as the Bombers defeated the Altona Maroons 11-2. The defending champion Mercs downed Carman 9-5. That loss eliminated the Beavers from playoff contention.


JJ Oke had two goals and an assist as Portage Collegiate downed Morden 4-1 at Stride Place. Alex Van Deynze and Cam Sarna also scored for the defending champion Trojans. Josh Ryckman Guilford had the lone goal for the first place Thunder who saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end. Morden is two points up on Portage Collegiate and the Trojans have two games in hand.


Winkler Flyers rookie forward Zach Nicolas as committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. The 18-year-old Winnipeg native has 15 goals and 19 assists in 41 games this season and is fourth among MJHL rookies scoring leaders. The Raiders play out of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.


The Winnipeg Jets opened their five-game homestand with a 3-2 loss to Buffalo. Nate Schmidt and Pierre-Luc Dubois did the goal scoring for the Jets who trailed 3-0 midway through the third period. Former Jets netminder Eric Comrie made 19 saves in net for the Sabres.


The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have agreed to a one-year contract extension with linebacker Shayne Gauthier. He was scheduled to become a free agent next month. The 30-year-old Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec native returns for a seventh season with the football club in 2023. A fourth-round selection by the Blue Bombers in in the 2016 CFL Draft, Gauthier has suited up for 81 games with the team over six years and has not missed a contest in the last three seasons. He posted career-high numbers in defensive tackles in 2021 and 2022 recording 28 tackles last season.


The Winnipeg Goldeyes resigned catcher Hidekel Gonzalez, signed catcher Jackson Smith and dealt centre fielder Reggie Pruitt Jr. to the Milwaukee Milkmen to complete an earlier deal. Gonzalez hit .189 with 12 doubles and a career high nine home runs for the Fish last season. Smith played for the Gary SouthShore RailCats in three of the past four seasons, including the 2019 and 2021 campaigns under new Goldeyes manager Greg Tagert. Pruitt hit .259 with 13 homer runs, 41 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 80 games with Winnipeg in 2022. The transaction completes the January 6th trade in which the Goldeyes acquired first baseman David Washington from the Milkmen in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tyler Smith and player to be named later.